Category: House and Home

Meet JUUL, the Better Vaping Alternative

Hey Everybody! What a great day this has been! Back from my 7-day cruise and I just have to say, without this little jewel (JUUL) I would have not been a happy vaper.

In fact, I turned someone else on to JUUL that has never smoked anything in his life!! He had so much fun vaping with me one night on the ship, I don’t know if he will ever do it again, but he liked it that night. 😉

Most of you who follow me, know that I used to smoke several years ago, switched to vaping and normally use a tank and ejuice. Sometimes I vape CBD also. JUUL is such a better vaping alternative, with its slim design you can vape discreetly just about anywhere!

I had a little two zipper purse/pouch like thing I bought on the ship to take my cards, money, and phone everywhere. JUUL fit in the smallest pouch and was so great instead of lugging around a big tank and battery mod. At the pool, in y room, at the bars and lounges…I took it every place I went.

You can check it out yourself at JUUL to see all the ins and outs, how its made, all the flavors, their mission statement and more. You can even shop for your starter kit there. It’s a much less expensive vape system too!

Your starter kit look a like this:

Your refill pods look like this:

I have tobacco and mango flavors left.

Your charger looks like this:

It has magnetic points your JUUL attaches to

Each pod holds about 200 puffs depending on how you vape. When you empty a pod, just take it off the top of the holder and snap in a new one.

Just follow the directions in your starter kit and you’ll be a pro in no time! Good luck and happy vaping!

Like this:

Ugh!! I guess I contracted food poisoning somewhere over the last few days, and food poisoning ( otherwise known as foodborne illness) really blows y’all!! 🤮

I spent all night in one or the other of our two bathrooms…vomiting, and then suffering the watery diarrhea, over and over. Now I’m writing from my bed, too weak to want to do much at all.

There is no telling where I picked it up, Tuesday I ate at a salad bar, Wednesday I ate at a Chinese buffet, and last night I made my first attempt at Keto Green Curry.

See the Asian eggplant in the Green Curry I made last night?

I was a bit worried that the frozen chicken had been on the counter thawing for 7 hours, yet it still felt cool when I stuck it back in the fridge til Dave got home to cut it up for me.

Then it cooked hard for 15 minutes and simmered about 20 more as I made the “Miracle Rice”. All of t tasted good, I just didn’t feel that hungry, as the night went on, my stomach hurt worse and worse til all heck broke loose around 10:30 pm.

Miracle rice boiling in the pot

Besides, if it was the chicken, wouldn’t Dave be sick too?

Now I’m sipping water and nibbling on crackers, laying in bed feeling gross and all I can think about is what needs to be cleaned. With Clorox! Ugh!

signs and symptoms of food poisoning

nausea

vomiting

watery or bloody diarrhea

abdominal pain and cramps

fever

I had every single one of those, and a throbbing head-that part is still hanging on.

According to the mayo clinic, “signs and symptoms may start with an hours after eating the contaminated food or they may begin days or even weeks later sickness caused by food poisoning generally last for a few hours to several days.”

I don’t know what to do first, eat something like soup, clean up all the messes I made, or take a shower, but all I FEEL like doing is laying here.

And to think, I was trying to remain Keto compliant. Eating salad one day for lunch,then meats off the buffet the next…only to catch some kind of virus or food poisoning. Not the way I’d go about losing a pound or two! 🤮

Stay vigilant y’all! Wash your hands and be careful of your food choices when out…better yet, cook your own as much as possible. I normally cook at home but dad and I go out once a week at least for lunch.

Neurological symptoms such as blurry vision muscle weakness and tingling in the arms

Luckily I’m over the worst of it!

I had it the worst one time in Korea. what was weird about that time was, I used to eat food from the village in Oijonbu all the time, yet I got this horrible case of food poisoning ON BASE!

I had eaten lasagna from what I remember at the officers club.

Since I started this post I managed to eat some soup and a few more crackers clean up the mess I made and now I’m about ready to go lay back down. I’m sorry that I’m out of it today, I tried to catch up on my email, but my eyes even hurt.

I hope everyone is having a way better Thursday and feeling great! I’ll be back as soon as I recover. 😊

Like this:

My back hurt so bad when I got up this morning, instead of reaching for a pain reliever, I made myself a nice, hot bath with Epsom salts and Helichrysum essential oil blend. Let’s talk about the benefits of and how to use Epsom salts.

Epsom salts have many uses

How Epsom Salts Work

Rumor has it that when you soak in a tub with some Epsom salts that the magnesium and sulfate enter your body through your skin and help with lots of ailments including:

arthritis

bruises & sprains

fibromyalgia

ingrown toenails

insomnia

psoriasis

sore muscles from working out

soreness from diarrhea during chemotherapy

sunburn pain & redness

tired, swollen feet

This may be the God’s honest truth or it may be an old wives tale, I know from experience, it works! My back is no longer hurting and that’s all I care about!

There are many brands out there today that have essential oils like peppermint or lavender already added to them, which is nice! Depending on your ailment or need, you can pick and choose.

I added Helichrysum blend because it smells good and has benefits of its own. The blend I use is a substitute blend from Hopewell that contains Clary Sage, Elemi, Roman Chamomile, Idaho Tansy, Birch, and Ylang Ylang.

There claims to be an alphabet of therapeutic uses for this blend, yet caution is to be taken for folks on blood thinners, pregnant women, or those with skin sensitivities. (although it’s never bothered me)

Click on the link above to find out more about this blend or make a purchase. (I get no compensation from Hopewell-just passing on the information)

How To Use Epsom Salts For Bath Soaks

As you are running a nice, warm-not hot-bath, pour in 1-2 cups of Epsom salts so they will dissolve. (Unless otherwise given permission by the manufacturer, do not add these salts to your hot tub, whirlpool, or other jet tubs).

Soak in the tub for at least 12 minutes, relax and let the salts do their work. Then bathe as usual and carefully get out. They will soften your skin and may make the tub a little slick, so be careful.

They will also remove excess oil from your hair, so as far as I know, it’s fine to wash your hair as you normally do. (if you do it in the tub like me) There are many other personal uses for these salts as well.

You can make a skin mask or a facial cleanser, they remove blackheads and exfoliate the skin. Soaking in Epsom salts will even remove a splinter! It reduces swelling, and volumizes hair as well.

Some people swear by these salts to cure gout, I recently got my brother a bag of Epsom salts that had activated charcoal infused in them, evidently this is a gout game changer! He was better that night!!

A Brief Word on Internal Use

Epsom salts have been used for hundreds of years as a safe laxative. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS when doing so. The package says to mix 1-2 tsp. in 1 cup of warm water to detox, then drink lots of extra water.

Do NOT do this more than once a day. That is all.

Other Uses

Soak a cloth in a cold water solution of 2T of Epsom salts and 1 Cup of water to treat mosquito bites, bee stings, and poison ivy.

Treat conjunctivitis and sties with a solution of warm water and Epsom salts by rinsing your face.

Like this:

Where can you go to find pantry staples besides the big box stores like Walmart and Sam’s? I have a secret you may not have heard…some department stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshall’s have got you covered!

When I first started using coconut oil about 3 or 4 years ago (maybe longer), I was surprised to find it at these great department stores. The first one I saw it in was Ross, in the back of the store where the home goods are.

They have all kinds of gourmet foods, specialty teas, coconut oils, spices, and more. I have found Himalayan Pink salt there, as well. Not everything is Keto or Paleo, you have to read labels and kind of know what you normally stock in your pantry.

Photo credit: Iyul Kamazur for Envato Elements

TJ Max and Marshall’s have these items too, most of the time. In fact, according to an article I recently read from Bon Appetit Magazine “T.J. Maxx, sadly, guards their sourcing like a trade secret and declined to comment for this story.”

I don’t care where they get it, just keep it coming! It is usually at an awesome price, they stock unusual brands of your favorite products, and you get the feeling you need to buy now or it will be gone tomorrow. That’s ok for the occasional splurge.

Say you’re out of peppercorns, you may find a huge bottle of them at one of these retailers for $3.99! I’ve found pretty good deals on coconut oil too, but I have to admit, I get a better deal now at Walmart.

Photo credit: Pixabay

Anyway, I just thought I would clue you unsuspecting folks out there to a few new places you can find quality pantry staples like these:

coconut oil

Himalayan pink salt

peppercorns

marinara

gourmet popcorn

quality spices (like Hungarian smoked paprika)

herbs

imported meats (like tuna)

You get the idea. Next time you find yourself in one of these three dept. stores, go to the back and peruse the shelves. You might be surprised at what you find!

Like this:

So most of you know I received my stem cell injection in my knee last Wednesday, I have been instructed to “take it easy” for the next couple of weeks.

If you know me well, you know I don’t do sitting around very well. That being said, I want this to work, so I have been trying to rest more than usual.

Low carb blueberry muffins

Well, this morning, I just did my normal routine, deciding to pop those quick Low Carb Blueberry Muffins in the oven before my shower, and when I got out and went to check on them, my knee was already swollen!!

So I sat with some ice on my knee while I consumed that muffin as part of my breakfast. I have to give Lillie over at Listotic for the recipe! These came out moist and with a lovely texture, not very sweet, might should have left them to brown a little longer.

I may have to tweak the recipe a bit to add more flavor, they were alright with my last couple of sips of bulletproof coffee. Just being honest here.

I need to get back on track, the hubby has been off for a week or so and I have been cheating a little bit too much. 😉

These muffins fit the bill when you are tired of eggs with 7 g of protein and 8g of carbs. Combined with a cheese stick and 4 pieces of hard salami (0 carbs total) that is a pretty low carb breakfast choice.

So you might ask what all did I do to get my knee so swollen…not much! Fed the animals, watered the plants, threw in a load of laundry, checked my emails, emptied the cat’s litter box, and made the muffins.

Wait, I also made my ACV tea, then my coffee, and ran out to put a garbage can to the curb. Later, I had to take another small bag out there. That’s all!

Of course, I cleaned the sink a couple of times too, took my shower and then sat back down to eat and ice and write this post. Once that’s done I have a couple of errands to run, but I will wear my brace for that, then come home and write some more.

That IS an easy Monday for me, honestly. I also aim to get in the pool and exercise my legs in a nice, no impact kind of way. Surely the dr would approve of that!

Yall have a marvelous Monday, and do try those Low Carb Blueberry muffins. Click the link above for Lillie’s recipe. Let me know how you like them. 😊

SiteGround

Pyure Brand Sweetener

Badia Ground Flax

Shop These Products at Amazon

Amazon Disclosure

Keto For Beginners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.